Yaakov
Boy · yah-ah-KOHV · Hebrew
Yaakov is a boys' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “holder of the heel”. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies) and 1,024th for boys in the US (218 babies).
What does Yaakov mean?
Hebrew: Hebrew form of Jacob
“holder of the heel”
The Hebrew form of Jacob, the patriarch whose twelve sons gave their names to the tribes of Israel.
- Say it
- yah-ah-KOHV
Is Yaakov a girl's or a boy's name?
Yaakov is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 3 boys in the UK and 218 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Yaakov in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,065among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 3about 1 in 100,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 6% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 3 boys in the UK were named Yaakov, making it the 5,065th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,108th. Its busiest year was 1999, with 12 boys.
2025 had fewer boys named Yaakov than any year since 2007.
Half of all the boys named Yaakov in the UK since 1996 were born between 2002 and 2017. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,974th in England and Wales.
Yaakov in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,065 |
| 2024 | 8 | #2,750 |
| 2023 | 8 | #2,691 |
| 2022 | 6 | #3,219 |
| 2021 | 5 | #3,614 |
| 2020 | 6 | #3,108 |
| 2019 | 6 | #3,184 |
| 2018 | 6 | #3,162 |
| 2017 | 12 | #2,037 |
| 2016 | 8 | #2,690 |
| 2015 | 11 | #2,127 |
| 2014 | 5 | #3,529 |
| 2013 | 6 | #3,096 |
| 2012 | 7 | #2,849 |
| 2011 | 9 | #2,311 |
| 2010 | 10 | #2,141 |
| 2009 | 7 | #2,679 |
| 2008 | 5 | #3,305 |
| 2007 | 3 | #4,486 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 3 | #3,992 |
| 2004 | 6 | #2,399 |
| 2003 | 3 | #3,593 |
| 2002 | 9 | #1,594 |
| 2001 | 11 | #1,369 |
| 2000 | 9 | #1,503 |
| 1999 | 12 | #1,188 |
| 1998 | 5 | #2,170 |
| 1997 | 6 | #1,853 |
| 1996 | 5 | #2,094 |
How popular is Yaakov in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,024among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 218about 1 in 7,800 boys
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 30% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 218 boys in the US were named Yaakov, making it the 1,024th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,101st. Its busiest year was 2021, with 237 boys. It first appears in the records in 1948.
Half of all the boys named Yaakov in the US since 1880 were born between 1996 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
Yaakov in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 218 | #1,024 |
| 2024 | 233 | #969 |
| 2023 | 234 | #961 |
| 2022 | 205 | #1,069 |
| 2021 | 237 | #951 |
| 2020 | 180 | #1,101 |
| 2019 | 160 | #1,193 |
| 2018 | 186 | #1,070 |
| 2017 | 189 | #1,056 |
| 2016 | 159 | #1,194 |
| 2015 | 207 | #993 |
| 2014 | 160 | #1,170 |
| 2013 | 178 | #1,058 |
| 2012 | 155 | #1,172 |
| 2011 | 153 | #1,167 |
| 2010 | 181 | #1,059 |
| 2009 | 131 | #1,324 |
| 2008 | 123 | #1,380 |
| 2007 | 137 | #1,277 |
| 2006 | 135 | #1,239 |
| 2005 | 120 | #1,281 |
| 2004 | 110 | #1,333 |
| 2003 | 112 | #1,268 |
| 2002 | 107 | #1,265 |
| 2001 | 104 | #1,273 |
| 2000 | 91 | #1,379 |
| 1999 | 106 | #1,201 |
| 1998 | 66 | #1,582 |
| 1997 | 94 | #1,231 |
| 1996 | 61 | #1,596 |
| 1995 | 78 | #1,322 |
| 1994 | 78 | #1,318 |
| 1993 | 56 | #1,596 |
| 1992 | 71 | #1,335 |
| 1991 | 80 | #1,239 |
| 1990 | 62 | #1,415 |
| 1989 | 75 | #1,238 |
| 1988 | 70 | #1,212 |
| 1987 | 94 | #973 |
| 1986 | 114 | #848 |
| 1985 | 57 | #1,267 |
| 1984 | 55 | #1,239 |
| 1983 | 38 | #1,561 |
| 1982 | 34 | #1,699 |
| 1981 | 47 | #1,373 |
| 1980 | 40 | #1,524 |
| 1979 | 37 | #1,570 |
| 1978 | 26 | #1,913 |
| 1977 | 36 | #1,546 |
| 1976 | 28 | #1,780 |
| 1975 | 23 | #2,000 |
| 1974 | 23 | #1,934 |
| 1973 | 27 | #1,696 |
| 1972 | 20 | #2,020 |
| 1971 | 21 | #1,986 |
| 1970 | 19 | #2,057 |
| 1969 | 20 | #1,860 |
| 1968 | 12 | #2,444 |
| 1967 | 13 | #2,241 |
| 1966 | 10 | #2,626 |
| 1965 | 6 | #3,535 |
| 1964 | 5 | #4,038 |
| 1963 | 5 | #4,047 |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 9 | #2,898 |
| 1960 | 5 | #4,036 |
| 1959 | 8 | #3,036 |
| 1958 | 9 | #2,816 |
| 1957 | 6 | #3,550 |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 8 | #2,962 |
| 1954 | 9 | #2,742 |
| 1953 | 8 | #2,904 |
| 1952 | 6 | #3,370 |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 5 | #3,678 |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 6 | #3,315 |
Nicknames for Yaakov
- Kobi 84 boys in the UK in 2025
- Yankel
Names like Yaakov
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Yusuf Yakov Yunus Ibrahim Yitzchok Yoan Muhammad Yahya Bodhi Aarav Kairo Avi
More Hebrew names
Noah Isabella Elijah James Jack Mia Ava Jude Ezra Benjamin Isaac Jacob Ethan Daniel Samuel Elias